title: Chronic exposure to volcanogenic air pollution as cause of lung injury.
abstract: Few studies were made regarding the pulmonary effects of exposure to volcanogenic air pollution, representing an unrecognized health risk for humans inhabiting non-eruptive volcanically active areas (10% of world human population). We tested the hypothesis whether chronic exposure to air pollution of volcanogenic origin causes lung injury, using wild mice (Mus musculus) as model. Lung injury was determined using histological morphometric parameters, inflammatory status (InfS) and the amount of black silver deposits (BSD). Mice exposed to volcanogenic air pollution have decreased percentage of alveolar space, alveolar perimeter and lung structural functionality (LSF) ratio and, increased alveolar septal thickness, amount of BSD and InfS. For the first time it is evidenced that non-eruptive active volcanism has a high potential to cause lung injury. This study also highlights the usefulness of M. musculus as bioindicator species, and of the developed biomarker of effect LSF ratio, for future animal and/or human biomonitoring programs.
authors.affiliation: CVARG, Centro de Vulcanologia e Avaliação de Riscos Geológicos, Ponta Delgada, Portugal. camarinho@uac.pt
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Camarinho
authors.forename: Patrícia Ventura
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Armindo Santos
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000818:Animals; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D055370:Lung Injury / Q000209:etiology*; D051379:Mice; D036401:Toxicity Tests, Chronic; D018707:Volcanic Eruptions
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants
keywords: Air pollution; AlvP; AlvST; Alveolar Perimeter; Alveolar Septal Thickness; BSD; Black Silver Deposits; InfS; Inflammatory Status; LSF ratio; Lung Structural Functionality ratio; Lung structural functionality ratio; Mice; PAlvS; Percentage of Alveolar Space; Pulmonary inflammation; Volcanism